• Development of a driverless car appears to be closely tied to Murphy’s Law and how to deal with it. The technology, which Google has been a leader in developing, was discussed at a meeting of the Society of Automotive Engineers in Washington last week, Bloomberg News reported. Among issues raised were how to ensure that software and electronic sensors would not fail, how to build in humanlike reactions to unusual events and how to assess fault in the event of accidents. “We’re really focusing on building in the reliability so we can trust and understand the system will perform safely in all conditions,” said Anthony Levandowski, product manager for Google’s self-driving technology. “How can you trust the system? How do you know how it can perform? How do you design it with proper processes in order to understand and minimize failure? How do you bake into a car redundant braking?” In other words, what happens when the software or sensors fail? Also, how do you get a driverless car to respond to a ball that rolls into the street followed by a child running after it? And, as we’ve mentioned before, what about liability? “Right behind the first autonomous vehicle is the first autonomous vehicle ambulance chaser,” said Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute. (Bloomberg News)

• Driverless cars will have to wait in Colorado. State Senator Greg Brophy, a Republican from Wray, sponsored a bill to allow driverless cars on Colorado highways. But on Tuesday he asked the Senate Transportation Committee to postpone the bill indefinitely, The Denver Post reported. Mr. Brophy said Google and trial lawyers had raised objections to the bill, making it unlikely that Democrats on the committee would support the measure. (The Denver Post)

• Mountain View, Calif., the home to Google among other companies, is looking at limiting the number of vehicles in one congested area of the city, according to The San Jose Mercury News. In discussing a transportation study, members of the City Council suggested that a policy of “no new net vehicles” in the North Bayshore area, where Google has its headquarters, might be in order. “We can’t do business as usual,” Ronit Bryant, a council member, said. “We need to set some really concrete goals, and no new net vehicles into North Bayshore is a very clear statement to make.” Another council member, Mike Kasperzak, said, “We need to be investing in the future as opposed to just doing what we know, which is rubber on concrete and more concrete.” How such a policy could be implemented has yet to be worked out. “How exactly that is to be done I don’t know,” Ms. Bryant said, “but the companies in North Bayshore are so full of very bright, very creative people that I’m sure they’ll be able to figure it out.” (The San Jose Mercury News)

What's Next

About

A team of New York Times contributors blogs about news, trends and all things automotive. Check back for insight, photos, reviews of cars and more. And remember to join the conversation — you can comment on the cars, offer your own reviews, and post questions in our reader comment area.

Archive

Recent Posts

The regular features of this blog, including Monday Motorsports, the Wheelies news briefs and reports on auto industry developments including vehicle recalls and technology updates, can now be found on the Automobiles Web page.Read more…

General Motors hasn’t offered a diesel passenger car since the diesel-powered Chevette chugged unceremoniously into its lineup in 1986. But the company is back with its efficient Chevrolet Cruze Turbo Diesel.Read more…